The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1887-03-04

hoTses9 And when the waves Of their
wretehedness rise up, white and foamy,
VI der the swooping of eternal storms,
ana The bill ows become more wrathful
aFd dash more high, oh, what viii they
do "amid the swelling Of Jordon"7
If could come into your heart this mo
ment, l would see that many OF you, my
dear friends, had vowed to be the Lords.
know not what sickness it was, or what
trisA; but I verify believe there is OF
man in the house but has some time vow Cd
he would be the Lor1's. It might have
been at the time when your child lay sick,
you said:
70, Lord, if thou wilt let this child get
well, / will be Christian"
Or it might have been in some business
trouble, when you have said:
20 Lord, if thou wilt let me keep my
property, win be 2 Christian
You kept yCtr property, your child got
well, the peril passed. Are you a
Christian2 History says that long ago it
had been announced that the world was
coming TO an end, and there was great ex-
element in London. 1t was said that the
world would perish on certain Friday. On
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Fri
day the people were in the cathedral,
praying and weeping. 1t seemed as If the
whole English nation was being convert
ed to God, for il was announced as Ger
tain by philosophers that on that
coming Friday the world would per-
ism. Friday came, and there were no
portents, no fires in the air, no earth
quakes. The day passed along just like
every other day, and when it was past and
the nigh came, it is said that in London
there was scene Of riot, and wassail
and drunkenness, and deb4uchsrv such
as had never been witnessed. They for
got their repentance, they forgot their
good resolutions. o how much human
nature in thatl While trials and misfort-
unes come to US, and we are down deep in
darkness and trouble, we make vows
We say:
30 Lord, do so, and l viii do So"
The darkness passes, the peril goes
away. We are as we were before, or
worse, for oh, how often 1 have seen men
start for the kingdom Of God, come to
within arms re }ch Of it, and then go back
farther from God than they ever We're
before, dropping from the very moment Of
their privilege into darkness for ever.
Oh, how ungratCful we have beenl Do
you know how much God has done for
you and for me7 Have you never felt it7
How much he did for you to-day Who
spread the table for you2 Who watched
you last night? Who has been kind and
good to you all your life long2
Oh, how ungrateful we have beenl
/ Methinks the goodness of God ought to
lead this whole audience to repentance. I
know not your individual history. Some
| of you I never saw before, some OF you l
will never see again; but I know that God
has been good to you. What return have
you mades There was a steamer on one
of the Western lakes heavily laden with
passengers, and there was a little child
who stood on the side Of the taffrai,
| leaning over and watching the water,
when she lost her balance and dropped
| into the waves. The lake was very
rough. The mother cried:
"Save my child Save my chlldY'
There seemed none disposed to leap into
the water. There was a Newfoundland
| dog on deck. He looked up in his mas
| ter's face, as if for orders. Bic master
| sand:
'Tray, overheard, catch 'eml''
The dog sprang into the water, caught
the child by the garments, and SWAN
| back to the steamer. The child was
| picked up by loving hands, the dog was
/ lifted on deck, and the mother, ere she
| tainted away in utter thanks giving
| to that dog, threw his arms around
! its neck and kissed it; but the dog
| shook himself off from her embrace, and
went and laid down as though he had &C
/ cOmplished nothing. Shall a mother be
| grateful to a dog that saved her child and
be ungrateful to the Son of God, from the
heights of Heaven, plunged into the depth
/ of darkness, and suffering, and woe, that
| he might lift US up out of that sin, and place
/ us on the rock Of agess Oh, the height,
/ the depth, the length, the ininity, the hor-
ror OF our ingratitudel Don't you treat
| Jesus that way any more. Don't you thrust
him back from your soul He has been
| the best friend you ever had. You will
| want him after awhile When the world
is going away ec0m your grasp and all
| the lights that shine on your soul are
| going out, and the friends that stand
around you can do you no good, and you
| feel your feet slipping from beneath you
| oh then you will want him-the loving
| Jesus, the sympathetic Jesus, the pardon
| ing Jesus-to stand close to you, and to
| hold you up amid the swelling of Jor
/ dan ~